Gov. Chris Christie today laid the blame for a dearth of judges in Essex County at the feet of state Senators Ron Rice (D-Essex) and Richard Codey (D-Essex). Citing an "unprecedented" use of Senatorial Courtesy, which allows state senators to block cabinet nominations, Christie said the two senators have blocked hearings that would confirm Chris Cerf as the education commissioner, despite his nominations nearly a year ago. Speaking at a press conference in Teaneck this morning, Christie said there would be no nominations of judges in Essex County until an agreement is reached. There are currently 11 vacancies for judges in Essex County, out of 44 judges. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Police responding to an emergency call about shots fired at a home on Avenue A in Bayonne Monday night found a grisly murder scene, with four people shot to death -- among them an infant. The circumstances of the shootings are not yet known, but it's believed the shooter turned the gun on himself. Investigators remained at the scene into the early morning hours on Tuesday, while family members of the victims gathered at Bayonne medical center, where a fifth victim was recovering. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Friends and neighbors gathered at the Lakehurst home of Tierra Morgan Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil. The two-year-old girl was found dead Tuesday afternoon, strapped into her car seat and partially submerged in a stream in Shark River Park in Wall Township. The girl's father, Arthur Morgan III, 27, has been charged with the girl's murder and is being sought by police. Morgan had picked up his daughter for a visit Monday afternoon and then failed to return her to her mother, Imani Benton, that evening. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Occupy Wall Street protesters streamed through the financial district and across the Brooklyn Bridge during a "Day of Action" marking the two-month anniversary of the populist movement. Although the event was planned well in advance, the protests came two days after New York City moved to evict protesters from their permanent encampment at Zucotti Park. Chanting slogans like "Whose streets? Our streets!" protesters sought to close off entrances to the New York Stock Exchange before the ringing of the bell and clashed with a heavy contingent of police deployed on the streets. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Occupy Wall Street protesters chanted "This is a non-violent protest," and "Put away your riot gear, I don't see no riot here," in a tense standoff with police near the New York Stock Exchange this morning. But a confrontation between a protester and police led to a string of arrests as the Occupy movement's "Day of Action" got underway. The man arrested was trying to leave to join another protest. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

An enthusiastic group of 25 Occupy Wall Street protestors left the movement's home base at Zuccotti Park in New York City Wednesday afternoon and embarked on one of the longest Occupy marches yet -- a two week trek to Washington. The group is planning to cover about 20 miles a day and aims to arrive in Washington by November 23, the day a Congressional committee will decide whether to let the Bush tax cuts expire. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Veterans are disproportionately represented in the homeless population. It's not a new problem, but as the job market remains stagnant, shelters and transitional housing programs are seeing more veterans who have never been homeless -- people who have always been able to support themselves and have never had any substance abuse or mental health problems. A handful of shelters in New Jersey, like Community Hope, a nonprofit that contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Care House, a pilot program run by the Salvation Army in Perth Amboy, offer transitional housing programs specifically for veterans. Unlike emergency shelters, the residents can stay for an extended period of time and are given assistance going back to school or finding a job. While the services are invaluable, the sheer fact of becoming homeless can be overwhelming for residents. (Video by Nyier Adbou/The Star-Ledger)

Josh Vandiver, a graduate student at Princeton University, and his husband, Henry Velandia, a Venezuelan native, have waged a public battle to stay together. The couple were legally married in Connecticut in 2010, but the federal Defense of Marriage Act prevents Vandiver, an American citizen, from sponsoring Velandia, a Princeton salsa instructor, for a green card. The 1996 law, known as DOMA, prohibits federal entities, including immigration courts, from recognizing a same-sex marriage for any legal purpose. For many gay and lesbian binational couples, the answer has been to emigrate to one of the few countries that recognize a gay spouse. Tom Smeraldo and Emilio Ojeda left their dream home in Washington Township in Warren County and moved to Toronto, a city where they knew no one, because six years of fighting Ojeda's deportation had failed. But a shift in the federal government's policy on DOMA has offered hope to couples around the country. Velandia's case, and that of another gay couple in New Jersey, proved to be landmark cases. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Following revelations that Gov. Chris Christie met privately with billionaire oil tycoon and conservative financier David Koch earlier this year and then headlined a closed meeting of conservatives in Colorado hosted by Koch and his brother in June, Christie has angrily defended his right not to publicly disclose his schedule for events not related to his office. Speaking to reporters during a press conference in Bergenfield on education reform, Christie again stated that he would not reveal events he attends in his personal time. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Citing chronically flooded towns like Wayne, Little Falls and Manville, Gov. Chris Christie said he spoke with President Obama during his visit in Paterson about a need for FEMA to focus on offering buyouts to people who want to sell their homes. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Gov. Chris Christie and acting education commissioner Chris Cerf visited an eighth grade class at Roy W. Brown Middle School in Bergenfield this morning as part of an renewed focus on education reform. The district is one of 10 chosen by the state to participate in a pilot program aimed at examining new ways to improve teacher assessment. Bergenfield received an additional $1.15 million dollars in state aid in this year's budget -- part of the $850 million increase in school aid approved by Christie in this year's state budget. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Gathered at the nation's oldest Episcopal cathedral, members of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths joined together to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The interfaith service, held at Trinity and St. Philip's Cathedral in Newark and attended by the city's mayor, Cory Booker, blended religious readings, chants and music from the three faiths under the guidance of Rev. Mark Beckwith, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz, of Temple B'Nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, and Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, of the Masjid Waarith ud Deen in Irvington. The three clergymen have worked together on anti-violence initiatives in Newark. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Family members and friends of the state's 9/11 victims gathered at Liberty State Park in Jersey City to open the Empty Sky Memorial. Among the crowds who turned out for the event were five former governors, the state's two senators, and members of the military. The names of 746 New Jerseyans who died on Sept. 11, 2001 line two reflective walls of the memorial. The walls, which rise some 30 feet high, are oriented to follow a straight trajectory to where the Twin Towers once stood. With a light rain falling after the ceremony, family members waited in long lines to walk through the memorial and were given a chance to make an imprint of the name of their loved one. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

For people who have an intimate connection with the New York skyline, the absence of the Twin Towers after the 9/11 attacks has overshadowed the last decade. Now, as the new towers finally begin to take shape, the skyline has again been altered. When it's complete, One World Trade will be the tallest building in the Western hemisphere -- 1,776 feet high. More than 80 floors of a planned 105 stories are now complete, with glass encasing some 60 stories. Some 3,400 workers are at the site around the clock. The national memorial -- two reflecting pools seated in the footprints of the original towers -- will open in time for the 10th anniversary this weekend. (Video by Nyier Abdou and Adya Beasley/The Star-Ledger)

Flooding resulting from Hurricane Irene has cut a swath of destruction through farms in rural areas of central New Jersey. At Norz Hill Farm in Hillsborough, Somerset County, Rich and Debbie Norz lost between 20 and 30 percent of their crops when the South Branch of the Raritan River, which runs alongside their property, surged across fields of corn and soy beans. Rich Norz, a fourth-generation farmer, said the flooding also laid waste to some 17 acres of pumpkins, which are a big draw for agri-tourism in the fall. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

For an observant Muslim, Ramadan is the holiest time of the year -- a time usually spent celebrating with family. But it was just the opposite for Kashif Parvaiz. Police say Parvaiz, who lived in Boston, plotted with another woman to murder his wife, Nazish Noorani. Part of that plot, authorities said, was to make the death appear to be a bias crime, and Parvaiz, who is originally from Brooklyn, suffered minor injuries in the attack Tuesday night. Noorani, a 27-year-old mother of two young boys, was shot repeatedly while the couple walked near her sister's home in Boonton. Police have also arrested Antoinette Stephen, of Boston, in connection with the murder. The announcement of the charges came only hours before Noorani's funeral at the Jam-e-Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton Friday. (Video by Nyier Abdou and Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

Hundreds of people gathered at the Jam-e-Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton this afternoon for the funeral of a shooting victim Nazish Noorani. Noorani, a 27-year-old mother of two, was laid to rest only hours after it was announced by police that her husband, Kashif Parvaiz, and another woman have been charged with her murder. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

The inspectors of the state Office of Weights and Measures are law enforcement -- they fall under the jurisdiction of the state attorney general's office -- but they are more like secret agents, fanning out across the state every day armed with little metal suitcases holding precision instruments that measure and calibrate everything from the percent of fat in your meat, to the timer on your Hollywood Tan, to the uniform weight of lottery balls. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Gov. Chris Christie joined Essex County leaders and local community groups this afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Essex County Riverfront Park. Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr. announced plans to convert 12.3 acres along Raymond Boulevard, in the Ironbound section of Newark, into a waterfront park with the help of Green Acres funds and partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. (Video by Nyier Abdou and Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger)